British Gas/Centrica 2016 profits- Switched On response

Campaigners are furious at British Gas’ continued profiting from high energy bills, while millions are in fuel poverty. [1]

Emma Hughes from Switched On campaign group said“Once again we see British Gas reporting comfortable profits, while over 10% of families in England suffer in cold homes struggling to pay astronomical energy bills. We urgently need an alternative to the Big Six’s rising profits. Councils can set up local public energy companies that deliver both affordable prices and clean energy.”

Mika Minio, energy economist for Platform, added“We’re appalled to hear British Gas boss Iain Conn put a positive spin on their most expensive tariff – which forces over a million people to choose between heating and eating this winter. Iain knows that standard tariffs are punitive and exploitative, ripping off customers by £1.4 bn. His claims are more proof that the Big 6 are distorting the truth to disguise their astronomical profits. Only honest and public energy companies run by our councils will change the system.”

Switched On (http://switchedonlondon.org.uk/) is a movement for publicly controlled energy that is affordable, green and democratic.

From Nottingham to Bristol, cities across Britain are leaving the Big Six behind by setting up their own, non-profit energy companies that cuts bills and polluting carbon emissions. In Scotland, social housing providers set up Our Power, a utility company meant to “work better for the residents and communities they serve”. London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Energy for Londoners programme, expected to be launched later this spring,[2] could offer an affordable democratic utility option to households in the capital.